


Broken, and yet...

by Just_a_simple_trash_can



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Auguste is still dead, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Laurent starts of mean but gets better, M/M, im so sorry, mild panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 05:02:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14394864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_a_simple_trash_can/pseuds/Just_a_simple_trash_can
Summary: Laurent DeVere kept to himself. He had been alone for a long time and he was okay with things staying that way. So why does Damianos keep trying to be friends with him?





	Broken, and yet...

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't actually intend for this to get as long as it did, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at just-a-simple-trash-can

The one thing that Damen didn’t expect to be woken up by was a phone call from a guy who might hate him. Actually, no. He was sure that Laurent hated him. If he didn’t, Damen would still be asleep instead of answering a phone call before the sun was up. He would have prefered anything else waking him up. He would have prefered the apocalypse over having to deal with the ice prince.

 

After knocking over the water bottle on his nightstand and almost dropping his lamp onto the floor, Damen grabbed his phone and answered the call. Before he could say anything, the ice cold voice on the other line spoke.

 

“Meet me at the Denny’s down the road in twenty minutes or I’m doing this project without you.” Damen looked at the time on his alarm clock and let out a loud groan, slamming his face into the pillow. He was not in the mood to deal with the ice prince. 

 

“I hope you realize that it’s four in the morning.” 

  
“You said you have work and I have a sick nephew that I need to take care of. This is the only time that works.” Damen wasn’t aware that Laurent had a nephew but he had learned it was best not to ask questions. He knew from past experiences that Laurent did not like to talk to people unless he had to and even then, his responses were cold and angry. “Just get down here.” Laurent hung up before Damen could say anything else. He sighed and considered just going back to sleep, but he didn’t want Laurent to have to do the project all on his own. He pulled himself out of bed and went straight to his shower. The cold water was enough to wake him up and after getting warmly dressed, he walked out to his car. 

 

Throughout the drive, Damen had to rub his eyes to keep himself awake. He turned on his radio as loud as it could go and tried to keep his eyes on the road.

 

_ Four in the fucking morning,  _ Damen angrily thought.  _ Who the fuck is willingly awake this early? _ He really didn’t understand Laurent. Don’t get him wrong, he had  _ tried _ . He had walked into his psychology class on the first day and found that there were only single seats left. He looked at everyone he could sit next to and chose Laurent, who was reading the textbook they needed for class. Damen took out his phone once he had dropped his backpack and started texting Nik. He looked over at Laurent who Damen thought was falling asleep as he was reading because he was continuously rubbing his eyes. It was when Damen looked closer that he noticed that Laurent was crying.

 

“Are you alright?” he had asked and Laurent looked at him as if he had been insulted.

 

“I’m fine,” Laurent had snapped in response. Damen nodded, not wanting to bother him anymore, and went back to texting. They hadn’t spoken the rest of the day, but Damen tried to start a conversation the next class and Laurent had just replied with a clipped, “Don’t.” So Damen didn’t. If Laurent didn’t want to make friends, he wasn’t going to force it. 

 

Then their PowerPoint presentation had been assigned and Laurent immediately said that he would do it all alone before packing his things away and leaving the room with the rest of class. Damen was shocked, but he still caught up to Laurent and told him that he was going to help whether Laurent wanted him to or not. Laurent looked like he was trapped between hitting Damen or running away. He gritted his teeth and handed his phone to Damen. 

 

“Put your number in,” he hissed. “And don’t contact me unless it is for the project.”

 

Laurent was a mystery and as much as Damen wanted to solve it, he also wanted to live to get his bachelor's degree. Laurent couldn’t be as cold and detached on the inside as he seemed on the outside, but that didn’t mean that Damen was going to force any answers out of him. He was just going to have to hope for the best.

 

Damen pulled into the Denny’s parking lot where there were only four other cars parked. He sighed, getting out of his car with his backpack hung over his shoulder. He pulled open the door to the restaurant and immediately found Laurent sitting in the back with papers and books covering the table. Damen sat down in the opposite seat and pulled out his own laptop and books.

 

“You came prepared,” Laurent mumbled. His eyes had heavy bags under them and he was practically falling asleep at the table. The waitress came over with his coffee and took Damen’s order before walking back into the kitchen.

 

“Of course I did,” Damen replied. “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine. Let’s just get to work.” Damen pursed his lips and began looking through the notes he had taken on the history of mental illness. He handed over his notebook as he took notes in a separate one.

 

“I took some notes last night if you want to look through them.” Laurent took the notebook without response and looked through his own, tossing Damen’s underneath one of his books. Damen felt his jaw tense as Laurent pushed another one of his buttons. “Can you do anything without being a frigid bitch?” Laurent looked up at him, almost in shock. Damen shrunk back, trying to figure out the best way to apologize. That had been unnecessarily rude and Damen didn’t even know where it had come from.

 

“No, I can’t. You’ll just have to deal with it.” Actually, fuck the apology. If Laurent was going to be such a bitch, Damen wasn’t going to take his shit.

 

“Whatever. Did you check out the article I sent you?”

 

“I’m glad that we agreed on the same one to use. I like the author’s other work and I think it’ll do us some good.” It was Damen’s turn to be surprised. 

 

“Right. I’m gonna look into it after work. I have a couple of others bookmarked that I think will work well for us too.” Laurent just nodded and wrote something in the margins of his notebook. Damen couldn’t help but notice how neat his handwriting was. There wasn’t an imperfection to be seen and Laurent wrote everything in pen without looking at the paper. 

 

The waitress dropped off Damen’s coffee and took their orders. Laurent just ordered some toast while Damen got one of their bigger plates, needing the energy for the headache Laurent was going to be. 

 

The rest of the morning went without too much confrontation, but Damen had learned something very valuable. It didn’t matter how pretty or smart Laurent was; if Laurent said one more condescending or bitchy thing, Damen was going to hit him. There was no justifiable reason for Laurent to be as cold and empty as he was, but it didn’t seem like he gave a shit about being nice to people. Once seven o’clock had hit and the restaurant was starting to get more customers, Laurent packed all of his things away and left without a goodbye or thank you. 

 

“I just don’t fucking get it,” Damen groaned, collapsing on the couch back at his apartment. He had been ranting since he arrived back at the apartment and Nik had to suffer through it. “I don’t understand him. I don’t know what his problem is, but-” He let out a loud groan and rested his head on Nik’s shoulder. Nik ruffled his hair as he continued to channel surf.

 

“I’m sorry that your partner is such a bitch.” Damen sat right back up.

 

“And I would help him if he just said one nice thing to me, but everything that comes out of his mouth is either a bitchy remark or sarcasm and I’m so tired of it.”

 

“When is your project due?”

 

“In three weeks, but knowing Laurent, he’ll have it turned in by the end of the week just so he can avoid talking to me.” Damen took his shoes off and kicked his feet onto the coffee table.

 

“Don’t you have to get ready for work?” He looked at the clock hanging on the wall and shook his head. 

 

“I’m just gonna call in sick today. I have enough days saved up.”

 

“I don’t think blue balls is a justifiable illness, but whatever.” Damen turned to his friend and raised an eyebrow. Nik continued to stare at the T.V.

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“Have you gotten laid since Jokaste?” Damen began to realize what his friend was trying to say.

 

“I don’t want to fuck him.”

 

“Isn’t he the same guy from your psychology class with the pretty blue eyes and the sharp tongue?”

 

“That was different. I think he’s a dick now.” Nik clapped his shoulder with a smile. 

 

“You’re learning.” Damen scoffed and shoved his friend.

 

“Fuck off. Anyway, how do I get him to be the least bit nice to me? I’ve tried everything and it doesn’t seem to be working.”

 

“There’s probably nothing you can do. Just finish the project and you can ignore him for the rest of the term.”

 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

 

“Of course I’m right.” Nik finally stopped on a Parks and Rec episode and tossed the remote onto the table. “Just make a promise to me.”

 

“What?”

 

“Don’t fuck him and don’t fall in love with him.” Damen snorted.

 

“I don’t think he’s capable of anything like that. Don’t worry, Nik. I’m not going to go out with him.”

 

“Good.” Nik grabbed his phone off of the armrest and looked at it. “You mind if Jord comes over?”

 

“When is he not over? You’re going to have to ask him out at some point.”

 

“Over my dead body. Can he come over or not?” Damen stood up and stretched.

 

“Just be quiet when you fuck and don’t leave a mess. I’m gonna take a nap. Wake me up when there’s food.” Damen barely missed getting hit with the remote as he walked out.

***

Laurent let out a yawn as he opened his apartment door. He hung his book bag by the door and looked at the disaster that his nephew had made in his kitchen. If Nicaise wasn’t ill, Laurent would have made him clean it up. He shook his head and walked to Nicaise’s bedroom where the teen was laying in his bed surrounded by used tissues and several empty cups. A cartoon was playing on the T.V, but it didn’t seem like Nicaise was watching it. Laurent knelt down next to his bed and brushed the hair out of Nicaise’s face.

 

“Hey,” he whispered. “How are you feeling?” Nicaise shook his head and pressed his face into his pillow. There were tears spilling down his cheeks. “Do you want something to eat?”

 

“He called,” Nicaise whispered with a small sob. Laurent felt his heart drop and his stomach tightened. “I checked the voicemail when I went to get something to drink. He wants you to call him. He doesn’t think you’re doing well enough and he’s waiting for you to fail. I don’t want to live with him, Laurent. Please don’t make me.” 

 

“I won’t.” Laurent sat on the bed next to him and carefully stroked Nicaise’s hair. “He’s not going to lay a hand on you. I promise.” Nicaise buried his head into Laurent’s shirt and sniffled.

 

“Where did you go?”

 

“I had to work on a project with a classmate.” 

 

“Are they your friend?” Laurent let out a sigh, squeezing his eyes shut. Hardly so. 

 

“No, he isn’t.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it, Nicaise.”

 

“I want you to have friends, Laurent. You spend all your time at work or school or here and you never go out. What’s his name?”

 

“Damianos.”

 

“Do you like him?” 

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“What is he like?”

 

“Too nice for his own good. The kind of person that wants to be friends with everyone and the kind of person that I try to avoid.” Niciase turned so his back faced Laurent.

 

“It wouldn’t be an awful idea for you to hang out with someone your own age, Laurent. That’s what Dad would have wanted.” Laurent felt himself tense up and he had to force himself not to snap at Nicaise. Auguste was still a soft spot for Laurent and he didn’t know if talking about Auguste would ever be easy.

 

“There was a lot that your father wanted for me that he never got. He had many expectations for me that are never going to happen. Your father always had an optimistic viewpoint of life, but he never understood that things weren’t as good as he thought they were.” Nicaise didn’t respond. “It’s safer for the both of us if I don’t let myself get close to anyone. We don’t know who uncle has manipulated. Anyone could be a threat.” 

 

“You’re wrong.” Laurent shook his head, despite the fact that Nicaise couldn’t see it.

 

“Get some sleep, Nicaise. Call for me if you need anything.” Laurent walked back to his bedroom and just stared at his bed. It was far too big for one person to comfortably sleep in alone. It wasn’t like Laurent slept, though, so maybe the bed wasn’t the problem. He walked into his bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. He was clearly tired, but he knew that he wasn’t going to sleep. There was a reason that he had been at the Denny’s at four in the morning. He could have gone sooner, but he had already woken Damen up early enough. Any sooner and Damen may not have even come. 

 

Laurent reached into his medicine cabinet and pulled out an almost empty bottle. He made a mental note to refill his prescription as he took one of his pills. He took a drink of water and walked back out to the living room where he opened his laptop and wrote until his fingers hurt.

***

“What the fuck do you mean it’s done?” Laurent didn’t look up from his book. It had been almost a week since the incident at Denny’s and since then, they hadn't spoken.

 

“Exactly what you think it means. I finished everything last night and I don’t want to look at it again. I’ve already turned it in.” Damen wanted to be pissed, but it was exactly what he had expected.

 

“Did you at least look over my notes?” Laurent reached into his bag and pulled out a notebook.

 

“I did. You made some good arguments that I made sure to put in.” 

 

“Oh. Thanks then.” He hummed in response and went back to his book. “You mentioned you had a nephew. How old is he?”

 

“I don’t like making idle conversation.” So much for that plan.

 

“It doesn’t hurt to have a friend.” Damen noticed that Laurent’s grip on his book had tightened. “Or maybe it does. Whatever.” Laurent pushed his glasses back up and closed his book.

 

“You can be friends with anyone in this class. I prefer not to waste my time with people who don’t give a shit about me.”

 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Damen mumbled under his breath. “Look. I don’t want to seem like the asshole here, but-” Laurent turned in his chair, facing Damen directly. Damen froze under his glare. No wonder he was called the ice prince.

 

“I am going to say this as kindly as possible, Damianos. It would be in your best interest to stop trying to be friends with me. I am not the kind of person people like to associate themselves with, so it would be best for you and your reputation to stay as far away from me as you possibly can. I’m not-” Laurent stopped, as if he were considering his next words. “I don’t need distractions in my life right now, so make it easier on yourself and don’t associate yourself with me.” The professor walked into the classroom, signaling the end of the conversation. Laurent turned back in his seat and pretended like he had said nothing, leaving Damen dumbstruck. He tried to come up with something to say, but the professor started speaking, leaving Damen no choice but to leave the argument unfinished.

 

“He really said that?” Pallas asked after Damen had finished his story. Damen and Nik had finally convince their friends to hang out, but it quickly turned into an impromptu therapy session.

 

“Who says that is the question,” Damen replied, looking up at the ceiling. “It’s like he doesn’t want anyone to know anything about him because he’ll scare them away.”

 

“What’s his name again?” Jord called from the kitchen as he grabbed another beer. 

 

“Laurent something. He wouldn’t even tell me that. I just know that he has a nephew that lives with him, but I don’t know his name.”

 

“Why is he raising his nephew?” Damen shrugged and sat up. 

 

“There’s being an introvert and there’s being scared of people knowing anything about you. I’m actually a little worried about him.”

 

“You know nothing about him?” Pallas let out a hum as he spoke. “Why don’t you try to find something that he likes? Compliment his outfit or something. Try to learn a thing or two.”

 

“That sounds like advice to hit on someone. I’m looking to meet him halfway, not date him.” 

 

“He’s your type,” Nik said. “We all know it.” 

 

“I won’t say that he isn’t good looking, but if he doesn’t even want a friend, I don’t think he wants a relationship.” Damen was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. Everyone in the room looked at each other, trying to figure out who was missing as Damen got up to open the door. Laurent stood outside, wet hair pulled back into a tight braid. He was carrying Damen’s notebook in one hand while the other was clenched into a fist.

 

“It came to my attention,” Laurent said, his voice tight and strained. “That I never gave this back to you in my haste to avoid any further confrontation.”

 

“You’re soaking wet,” came out of Damen’s mouth before he could stop it.

 

“Brilliant deduction. I didn’t expect the rain.” Laurent let out an annoyed sigh. “I have to get back to my nephew if you don’t mind.” Damen thought of his next move carefully. If he wanted to be friends with Laurent, he was going to have to be patient.

 

“Give me a second.” Damen closed the door and ran to his room, grabbing the umbrella he would very well need for the next day, but that thought wasn’t on his mind. He ran back to the living room and opened the front door, exchanging the notebook for the umbrella. “Here. You need this more than I do. And I’m sorry.” Laurent looked up at him in surprise. “I’ll respect your boundaries if you want. I’m a social person and I try to make friends as often as possible, but if you don’t want that, I won’t force you to. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable in any way and I hope that we can at least try to meet in the middle and avoid another argument.” Laurent stood in shock. It gave Damen the chance take a closer look at him and take notice of everything he hadn’t before. Damen always looked at his eyes first. They were blue. An impossible blue. His hair was like liquid gold and Damen wondered out it would feel running his fingers through it. Laurent was wearing plain and skin tight clothing. He always had, Damen realized. He always wore dark or gray unrevealing clothing. Damen’s eyes landed on a silver cross hanging down his neck that Laurent quickly put his hand over.

 

“I don’t- What are you doing? I don’t understand you.” Damen shrugged and leaned against the doorway. 

 

“I’m starting to realize that maybe something happened and you don’t like to get close to people because you’re afraid of what they’ll find out. I’ll change seats in psychology if that helps. I just don’t want you to-” Damen looked down, trying to find the right word. “You have a lot to deal with and if I’m being a nuisance or a burden, just tell me and I’ll leave you alone.”

 

“You aren't a burden. You’re just…” Laurent stopped. For once, he didn't know what to say. His jaw suddenly tightened and he turned away. “I have to go.” He ran before Damen could stop him. Damen stood in the doorway for a minute before going back inside.

 

“That was…” Lazar started. “I’m not exactly sure what that was.”

 

“Neither do I,” Damen replied. “Do you think we’ve met halfway?”

 

“He doesn’t think you’re a burden,” Nik said. “That’s a start at least.”

 

“Yeah, I guess.” Damen looked down at his notebook with a frown. He wanted to understand Laurent, but he wasn’t sure if he ever would.

***

Laurent slammed the door to his apartment closed and threw his phone at the wall without even thinking about it. He collapsed onto the couch, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried not to cry. He was tense and everything hurt. He pulled himself up and grabbed his phone off of the floor. The screen was cracked, but Laurent didn’t worry about that. He dialed one of the few numbers he had.

 

“Laurent,” Berenger said. 

 

“What the fuck, Berenger?” Laurent yelled in response.

 

“Always good to hear from you, Laurent. Ancel was talking about you the other day. We’d like to have you over for dinner again.”

 

“I will once my uncle follows his restraining order.”

 

“What did he do?” Laurent pinched the bridge of his nose and growled.

 

“He tried to pick Niciase up from school. One of the secretaries called me at work and said that a strange older gentleman was trying to sign Niciase out early.”

 

“Would said secretary provide a written testimony that we can use in court?”

 

“You keep saying that we’re going back to court and yet...”

 

“We’re building a strong case, Laurent. You remember what happened last time.”

 

“You mean when we almost lost?”

 

“I told you that Guion was going to be a problem.”

 

“Guion is a lot of things, but a good lawyer isn’t one of them.”

 

“No, he’s just crooked. Everything will be fine, Laurent. We will have to talk about your job and your current living environment.”

 

“I’m still getting a paycheck every month and Nicaise has a roof over his head.” Laurent stopped his pacing. “My uncle is not trying to get custody of Nicaise.”

 

“He is Nicaise’s only next of kin.”

 

“I am raising him just fine. My uncle will rip away his spirit and turn him into an empty shell.”

 

“Only the two of us know that for sure. The rest of society sees him as a respectable and charming businessman.”

 

“He can choke for all I care.”

 

“I’ll just keep that between us. Everything will be fine, Laurent. How is school?”

 

“People are trying to be friends with me.”

 

“What a nightmare.” 

 

“You know what happened the last time I trusted someone.” Berenger sighed. 

 

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have someone for you to talk to about your anxiety. Speaking of which-”

 

“I’m fine, Berenger. I promise.”

 

“You’re not fine, are you? You can be honest with me, Laurent.” Laurent collapsed onto the couch and put his head in his hand. 

 

“I don’t know what to do, Berenger. If I start seeing a psychiatrist and my uncle finds out, he could use that against me and try to convince the judge that Nicaise shouldn’t be in my custody.”

 

“Laurent, are you listening to me?”

 

“Yeah.” He really wasn’t, but Berenger had never done him wrong before. It wouldn’t hurt to take his advice.

 

“As long as I’m your lawyer, your uncle won’t be in a ten mile radius of you or Niciase. Do you understand me? Auguste wanted me to take care of the two of you if anything ever happened to him. I promise you, Laurent. Nicaise will stay in your custody.” 

 

“Thank you, Berenger.” Laurent took a deep breath and sat back up. “I appreciate everything you do for us.” 

 

“You’re welcome, Laurent. Where is Nicaise now?”

 

“He’s hanging out with some friends.”

 

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to do the same, you know.”

 

“I’ll talk to you soon, Berenger. Keep me updated.”

 

“I will. Take care of yourself.”

 

“I will.” Laurent hung up and dropped his phone onto the table. He ran his fingers through his hair and collapsed onto the couch. Dropping his glasses on the table, he pulled a blanket over his body and let himself drift off to sleep.

***

Damen started at his phone for a good twenty minutes. Laurent had probably deleted his phone number, but there was the possibility that he hadn’t. Damen wanted to talk to him. He wanted to understand and help Laurent in anyway that he could. He thought a phone call would be better than a face to face conversation. Damen took a deep breath and pressed Laurent’s contact, putting the phone to his ear. It rang a few times before someone answered.

 

“Laurent,” Damen quickly said. “I want to talk to you. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I do just want you to know that if you do need to talk to someone about anything, I’m here and I’ll keep everything you tell me to myself. I know that we hardly know each other and you have no reason to trust me, but you’re clearly in pain about something and it’s unhealthy to keep all of your emotions inside. I’m not saying that you have to talk to me, but you should talk to someone. I’ve noticed that you haven’t been sleeping either and I’m not going to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do, but I’m worried about you.”

 

“Wow,” a voice that clearly wasn’t Laurent said. “No wonder he talks about you so much.” Damen sat up in his bed.

 

“Who is this?”

 

“Nicaise. Who are you?”

 

“My name is Damen. I’m one of Laurent’s classmates.”

 

“You're Damen.” Damen didn’t really know what that meant, but he didn’t question it.

 

“Where is Laurent?” 

 

“He’s asleep right now. You have really stupid hair.”

 

“How do you know what my hair looks like?”

 

“I looked you up on Instagram and made a guess on which profile is yours. Are you the guy that Laurent has been talking about for the past few weeks?”

 

“That’s depends. What has he been saying?”

 

“He’s been complaining because you’re trying to be friends with him and he’s the least social person that you’ll ever meet.”

 

“I could have told you that.” 

 

“Laurent doesn’t really trust people. The only person he talks to other than me is his lawyer.” 

 

“I...Wow.” Damen wasn’t aware that Laurent was that hidden away. “Anyway, can you tell Laurent I called?”

 

“I’ll pass along the message, but you have to answer a question first.”

 

“What’s the question?”

 

“Do you like Laurent?” That had surprised Damen. He didn’t know how to tell this kid that he wasn’t Laurent’s biggest fan. He didn’t hate Laurent, but there was definitely a sense of dislike.

 

“I don’t hate him. He can be a little rude sometimes.”

 

“He doesn’t mean it, you know. My uncle is a really good person. He just has trouble expressing emotions. It’s been like that since my dad died.” That’s why Laurent was raising his nephew. “He hasn’t know any emotions other than anger, fear, and sadness. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a genuine smile on his face. I just want him to be happy again. You’re his friend, right?”

 

“I...I could be.”

 

“I know Laurent can be difficult sometimes, but he has trouble trusting people. He’s just protective of himself and me. Anger is his immediate reaction to people because it’s been a while since anyone has cared about him. Apparently, my dad and him were really close and Laurent took his death hard. I don’t really remember him so I’m not as sad as Laurent is. Don’t take his anger to heart, okay? It’s his only defense mechanism and if you can break through it, maybe he’ll start smiling again.” There was a noise on the other line. “Laurent is starting to wake up. I have to go. Please don’t break his heart. I’ll have to kick your ass otherwise.” Nicaise hung up and Damen sat on his bed, confused and concerned.

***

“First of all,” Laurent started. “Never answer my phone without my permission ever again. You never know who’s going to be on the other line. Secondly, what did you tell Damianos?” Nicaise looked down at the floor, ashamed.

 

“Just that you don’t mean what you say when you’re taking your anger out on him. I didn’t say anything personal. I just want you to have a friend and he’s the only person that you talk to. I think he wanted to talk to you.” Laurent sighed, leaning back into the couch and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

 

“Nicaise-”

 

“Dad would have wanted you to be happy.” Laurent stopped and closed his eyes.

 

“I know, but I can’t drag anyone else into my mess. I- I’ve already dragged you into this and Auguste is probably pissed at me for it. I can’t get Damianos involved whether he wants to help me or not.” 

 

“At least call him. He was really worried about you. He deserves to know that you’re okay.”

 

“I know.” Laurent glanced at the clock. “Go do your homework. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.” Nicaise started to reply, but stopped himself and walked to his room. Laurent ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a deep sigh. He appreciated that Nicaise wanted to be happy, but until the situation with his uncle got better, he couldn’t bring himself to socialize with anyone. Damianos was a good man as much as Laurent hated to admit it. He was the kind of person that Auguste would have been best friends with and Laurent believed that was what hurt him the most. Damianos was far too much like Auguste for it not to hurt. They were both kind and charming and could be the center of attention with just a wave of their hand. But maybe that was Laurent’s fear. He would get close to Damianos and eventually, he would leave too. Laurent would have no one after that. Damianos had been the only person who continued to make attempts to befriend Laurent despite how crude and cruel Laurent acted. Damianos couldn’t be real, but he was and it wasn’t fair. All of Laurent’s problems would be solved if he just blocked Damianos’ number and focused on dealing with his uncle, but he knew that Damianos would find another way to slip back into Laurent’s life. It didn’t make sense. Why did Damianos care so much about him?

 

Laurent grabbed his phone and opened his messages to Damianos.

 

6:16 PM To Damianos: I appreciate your concern, but I believe it could be best if you avoid any other 

 

Laurent stopped, biting at his lip. His fingers tapped against the screen and he deleted the message.

 

6:17 PM To Damianos: My nephew was not supposed to be answering my phone and I apologize for anything that he said

 

He deleted that message, as well, with a loud sigh.

 

6:18 PM To Damianos: Thank you 

 

He locked his phone and dropped it onto the coffee table. The migraine that he had gotten after talking to Berenger had only gotten worse. Sleep wasn’t going to happen despite how tired Laurent still was. He pulled his hair back and sighed again, turning on the T.V. A theme song for some game show started playing loudly as Laurent laid across the couch again.

 

Laurent heard his phone vibrate just as he felt himself starting to drift off again. He yawned and reached for the device, accidently scraping his thumb against the crack on the screen.

 

“Shit,” he hissed out, shaking his hand as he reached for the phone with his other hand. There were a few email notifications and a text from Damen.

 

6:42 PM From Damianos: For what?

 

Laurent felt a shadow of a smile appear on his lips.

 

6:43 PM To Damianos: For being a good person

 

6:44 PM From Damianos: Thanking me wasn't easy for you, was it?

 

Laurent let out a small laugh, surprising himself. He put his hand over his mouth and shook his head.

 

6:45 PM To Damianos: As a matter of fact, it wasn’t.

 

6:45 PM To Damianos: Another crack like that and I’ll take it back

 

6:46 PM: From Damianos: You can’t take back a thank you. That’s not how this shit works

 

6:47 PM To Damianos: Too late. You took advantage of my kindness

 

6:48 PM From Damianos: I wasn’t aware that you could be kind. What an amazing phenomenon. I should call the press

 

6:49 PM To Damianos: Fuck off. Other than Nicaise, I don’t like to show kindness in front of anybody. It tends to be manipulated.

 

6:51 PM To Damianos: What did Nicaise tell you exactly?

 

He didn’t write back. Laurent let out a swear and walked to the bathroom to clean his cut and put a bandaid on it. He looked at himself in the mirror as he washed his hands and put a hand to his cheek. He looked awful. Maybe he did need to take better care of himself. Nicaise depended on him and Laurent wasn’t about to lose him. He walked back to the couch and picked his phone back up.

 

6:55 PM From Damianos: That you were a good uncle. That you kept to yourself because you’re afraid of being hurt. That sometimes it’s hard for you to open yourself up because you can’t trust people.

 

6:56 PM To Damianos: That’s it?

 

6:57 PM: He brought up your brother, but I can tell that he’s a sore topic

 

Laurent was calling before he even realized what he was doing.

 

“Hello?” Damianos asked. 

 

“He is,” Laurent replied, pulling his legs up to his chest. “I don’t think it’ll ever not be a sore topic.”

 

“You don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want to.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Why did you call?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Do you want me to hang up?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Well this is absolutely thrilling conversation.” Laurent let out a dry laugh. “But I got more than two words out of you at a time, so I think that’s a win on my part.”

 

“Brute.”

 

“Insulting people now, are we?”

 

“Do you have a good one in mind? There isn’t a lot I haven’t heard. Frigid bitch is my favorite one.” 

 

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. I deserved it.” 

 

“No one deserves to be insulted like that. Let me apologize for being a dick.” Laurent felt his lips lift into a smile.

 

“Only if you allow me to do the same.”

 

“Truce?”

 

“I might be willing to make a compromise.” Damen laughed.

 

“You enjoy making things unnecessarily complicated, don’t you?”

 

“It helps me weed out those who are only going to waste my time. I’m not going to put my time and efforts into people who want nothing to do with me.”

 

“How many times has that happened?”

 

“Let’s just say you’re the only person who hasn’t done so. At least not yet.”

 

“I don’t intend on wasting your time, Laurent.” 

 

“I-” Laurent stopped, not really knowing what to say. “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome.” Laurent glance at the clock again and sighed.

 

“I have to go. I promised that I would start dinner an hour ago and Nicaise is probably going to hold me to that. Do you...Would you mind if I called you back a little bit later?”

 

“Sure, if you want to.”

 

“Thank you. I’ll talk to you later, Damianos.”

 

“Damen is fine.”

 

“Goodbye, Damen.”

 

“Bye.” Laurent hung up and stared at his phone. He felt different, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He felt relaxed and for once, he let himself smile.

***

It hadn’t been his original intention, but the phone calls had become a nightly thing. Most of their conversations were about the events that had transpired that day. Laurent would complain about a coworker or a customer that he had to deal with or something that Nicaise did at school that he almost got in trouble for and Damen would laugh along and talk about how he was glad that he worked with Nikandros because he didn’t like his coworkers either. Laurent felt carefree talking to Damen. He wasn’t stressed about work and he didn’t think about his uncle. There was something about Damen that helped lift his mood. Laurent was comfortable enough to let his feelings out. There was still a lot  that Damen didn’t know, but he had proven to Laurent that he wasn’t going to leave anytime soon.

 

Nicaise had made a point to pester Laurent about meeting Damen. Laurent came home in a brighter mood and he smiled and laughed more and Nicaise wanted to know what was so special about Damen. Laurent ignored his pestering until Damen said that he wanted to meet Nicaise too.

 

“I don’t have to,” Damen said as Laurent cut a tomato for the sauce he was making. Damen had called at a bit of an inconvenient time, but Laurent didn’t mind multitasking. “I just think he’s an interesting kid.”

 

“He’s a brat,” Laurent teased, getting a middle finger from Nicaise who sat on the couch, watching T.V. “He also doesn’t know how to watch his mouth.”

 

“With all due respect, neither do you.” Laurent’s lips curved up in a smile.

 

“Yes, but I’m an adult and a respected one at that. He’s barely a teenager.”

 

“Good. He hasn’t reached his angsty teen years. He’ll stay locked up in his room and never talk to you.”

 

“He does that anyway. I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference.” There was a curse on the other line followed by a loud thud. “Damen? Is everything alright?”

 

“Yeah, sorry. I almost dropped my weight bar on my foot.” 

 

“You’re talking to me while you’re working out?” Apparently Laurent wasn’t the only one multitasking.

 

“I’m busy for the rest of the night and I wanted to make sure I got the chance to talk to you.” Laurent felt his cheeks get warm. Who said things like that? Especially to someone who was just his friend? “Laurent? You there?” 

 

“Uh, yes. Sorry.” Laurent quickly turned off his stove as the sauce started boiling. “You shouldn’t let yourself get distracted like that. I’d rather you not end up in the hospital.”  

 

“So you do care.”

 

“Fuck off,” Laurent replied with a small laugh. “I just know that I’ll end up being the one to drive you.” 

 

“You’d do that for me? Laurent, you’re so sweet.”

 

“Keep that up and you’re driving yourself to the hospital.” Laurent strained the pasta and returned the pot to the stove. “Sorry, Damen. I’m going to have to hang up.” 

 

“Right. No problem. I’ll just talk to you later then.” Nicaise gave Laurent a look from his spot on the couch and Laurent bit his lip in response.

 

“Before you hang up, would you perhaps...You don’t have class tomorrow, right?”

 

“Not until three. Why?” 

 

“Would you like to get breakfast together? Or maybe just coffee?” Nicaise gave him a thumbs up and went back to watching his show.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, that’d be great. Where do you want to go?”

 

“There’s a small cafe down the street from the college. It’s across the street from that eighties themed diner.”

 

“I know where that is. Does eight work for you?”

 

“Perfectly.”

 

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight, Laurent.”

 

“Goodnight, Damen.” Laurent ended the call and smiled without realizing it.

 

“I told you that you were going to get a crush on him,” Nicaise said. Laurent rolled his eyes.

 

“Come get your dinner.” Nicaise jumped off of the couch and walked into the kitchen.

 

“You’re smiling, you know.” 

 

“Yeah, I know.”

***

Laurent was jolted awake by...He wasn’t too sure. Something just didn’t feel right. The room was too dark and empty and his bed was too big and cold. Laurent tried to bundle himself in the blankets, but he couldn’t fall back asleep. He tried to remember the nightmare that had woken him up but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember it. He looked at his alarm clock and sighed. One day he would get a full night’s sleep. Laurent ran his fingers through his hair and slowly closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. His eyes shot back open almost as soon as they had closed. Every time his eyes closed, his brain screamed for him to open them again. Going back to sleep wasn’t going to be an option.

 

His phone was ringing before he knew what he was doing. There were three rings before a voice could be heard on the other line.

 

“You called,” Damen said, surprised and tired. Damen usually called first, making his surprise justified.

 

“Hi,” Laurent said back.

 

“Is something wrong? Do you need me to come over?” 

 

“I’d rather we meet up. I’m not going to sleep tonight. There’s...something you need to know.”

 

“I know some place that we can go. I’ll have to pick you up though.” Laurent bit the inside of his cheek. 

 

“Okay. I’ll text you my address. Be here in twenty.”

 

“I’ll be there soon.” Laurent hung up the phone and walked to Nicaise’s room. The teen was fast asleep in his bed. Laurent pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head before grabbing a jacket and a pair of shoes.

 

He didn’t wait outside long before Damen’s car drove up. Laurent opened the passenger door and looked at Damen who gave him a sad smile. Laurent mirrored it and sat down in the seat.

 

“So where are we going?” Damen typed something into his phone and started driving.

 

“Nowhere special. Just a small twenty-four hour diner not too far away from here.” Laurent nodded and stared out the window as they drove. The ride was silent, as if they were both afraid to speak. Laurent kept a tight grip on his cross, trying to focus on anything other than the silence.

 

The diner was small. Damen opened the door for Laurent as they walked in and he found an open booth in the back of the restaurant. He sat down before the hostess could lead them to a table. Damen sat across from him and intertwined his fingers. They both ordered drinks when the waitress came by and Laurent waited until their drinks had come to speak. He stared down at his hot chocolate and ran his fingers against the warm cup, trying to figure out what to say.

 

“I’ve been raising Nicaise for about eight years,” Laurent started. “He was four when my brother died. It was a car accident. My sister in law had passed away too. I was sixteen and I had been babysitting Nicaise that night. I was living with my uncle at the time and he wasn’t...My uncle is not a good man. His one goal in life is to ruin mine in any way possible. He told me that my brother had died the day that it happened and it almost didn’t feel real. My parents died when I was only about three or four and Auguste had been raising me since. When we had gone to live with our uncle, he made a promise to me that he would take me out of my uncle’s house as soon as he could. I didn’t know what he had meant by that at the time, but I soon came to find out. Auguste couldn’t protect me, not until I turned eighteen and could legally leave the house.” Laurent felt tears stinging his eyes. He rubbed at them and took a deep breath before continuing.

 

“We were two years away from being free, but the dream was destroyed by some fucking drunk running a red light. My uncle was going to hurt Nicaise too; I knew he was. We’ve only been living in our apartment for about four years. I left the house with Nicaise the literal second I turned eighteen and we lived with an old friend of my father’s. She helped us enough that I was able to get a stable job and move us into our own place. My uncle never hurt Nicaise, thankfully, but he somehow found out the phone number for our apartment. He’s waiting for me to fail so he can take Nicaise away and hurt him like he hurt me, but I can’t let him do that. I made a promise to Auguste that I would keep his son safe and I-” Laurent put his hand over his mouth and let out a sob. “I can’t protect everyone. It’s hard enough to make sure Nicaise is safe with the schedule I have and I’ve been avoiding people at all costs because I can’t let anyone hurt him. I can’t lose Nicaise, too. I push people away because no one could possibly understand the commitment I have to my nephew. If anything happens to him, I have nothing left. He’s my main priority over anything and I can’t let anyone close. Not anymore.” Laurent stopped and tried to catch his breath. “But you kept pushing your way back in and talking to me and Nicaise found out about you and he wanted me to have a friend and I didn’t know how to tell him that I can’t let anyone in. And then I learned to trust you and you became someone that I could vent to when I needed it, but it isn’t enough. I’m one mistake away from getting fired from my job and the second that it happens, my uncle will take him away and I’ll have nothing. I’m falling apart at the seams and I just don’t know what to do anymore.” Laurent broke then, letting the tears spill down his cheeks. He couldn’t hold them in anymore. He just had to wait for Damen to leave. The only thing Laurent could think was ‘Please don’t leave.’ Instead of hearing the sound of someone walking away, Laurent felt someone take his hand. Through his tears, he saw Damen caressing his palm. “What are you doing?”

 

“I’m helping you, or at least I’m trying to. Is it working?” Laurent wiped his eyes and let out a dry laugh.

 

“I don’t really know. I didn’t expect this reaction from you.”

 

“Did you think I was going to leave?”

 

“Kind of. I just gave you a lot of information to digest.”

 

“I understand most of it. Your uncle is a fucking asshole and you really care about Nicaise.” Damen let go of his hand for a moment and pulled out his phone. “I think I know how to help you.”

 

“How?”

 

“Nikandros’ not boyfriend lives alone in a three bedroom apartment. He kicked his roommates out after they both got arrested so he’s been looking for someone to cover the other half of the rent.. As for work, I know a private doctor who’s looking for an assistant.” 

 

“I’m not a medical student.”

 

“You wouldn’t be doing any medical work. It’s kind of a secretary job. Paschal is a good man that helped out my family a lot when my dad got sick. I trust him and I think you two would work together well.”

 

“I...You're too kind, Damen. I don’t think I can take you up on your offer. Your friend doesn’t know me and I have a tendency of pissing people off the moment I meet them.” Damen raised an eyebrow and dialed a number. He put the phone on speaker and pushed it so it sat in the middle of the table. 

 

“Damen?” a voice unfamiliar to Laurent said. “You’re kind of calling at a bad time.”

 

“Are you two finally hooking up?” Damen teased. “It’s about time. And at three in the morning no less.”

 

“Fuck off. Why are you calling?”

 

“Are you still looking for a roommate? I have someone who might be interested.”

 

“For the love of god, please tell him that I’m desperate.”

 

“It’s Laurent. He has a nephew too, but if that’s a problem-”

 

“No. Not at all. Living alone is miserable. How old is the kid?”

 

“Thirteen,” Laurent answered. “But he mostly keeps to himself.”

 

“Even better. He’ll stay in his room most of the time. You can move in right now if you want.” The pair could hear another voice yelling in the background. “I didn’t mean that literally, Nik. Look, Laurent. Can you cook?”

 

“Yes, I can.” 

 

“Fantastic. Just pay your half of the rent and cook every once in a while and you’ll be my favorite person in the world.” Laurent could feel his lips twitch upwards. 

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Absolutely. I’m begging you.”

 

“Where do you live exactly?”

 

“A few blocks away from Damen’s apartment. I’m still relatively close to the college. I also live around a couple other families so your nephew has someone to hang out with whenever you’re working. What do you say?” Laurent looked up at Damen who just gave him a gentle smile. Laurent smiled back.

 

“I’ll have to talk about it with Nicaise, but I am interested.” 

 

“Thank you, you beautiful blonde miracle.”

 

“How did you know I was blonde?” Damen sunk into his seat and looked down at the table. 

 

“Damen talks about you a lot.”

 

“You’re his type, you know,” Nik yelled in the background. Damen quickly scrambled for his phone and ended the call. Laurent felt his cheeks warm up.

 

“Please ignore everything they just said.” Laurent put a hand over his mouth as he felt his smile grow. Damen gave him a shy smile and rubbed the back of his head. “You’re not going to ignore that, are you?”

 

“No,” Laurent said. “I’m not. And Damen?” Damen looked up at him. “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome.” Laurent picked up his drink and took a sip. “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m...something. I’m better and I’m happy that you forced me to become your friend. I’m glad that I met you, Damen.”

 

“So am I.”

***

“Hey, Laurent.” Laurent looked up from his spot on the couch with a raised eyebrow. His glasses were slipping off of his face and his hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. “I’m going over to Damen and Nik’s. You wanna come?” Laurent pushed his glasses back up and looked back down at his notebook. Jord was shoving his keys into his pockets and shrugging into a jacket.

 

“I’m a little preoccupied right now. I have a essay and a quiz I need to take for psychology.”

 

“Damen can help you study.”

 

“What are you insinuating?” Jord rolled his eyes as he zipped his jacket.

 

“That Damen has a crush on you and you have a crush on him.” 

 

“I most certainly do not.” Laurent looked back at his book with a frown. He did his best to hide the blush on his cheeks.

 

“Fine. You don’t, but Damen still might want to see you.”

 

“Goodbye, Jord. Have fun.” 

 

“Bye, Laurent.” Jord waved as he walked out the door. Niciase walked into the living room as he did and sat on the only empty space on the couch. He grabbed one of Laurent’s books and started skimming through it. 

 

“This is boring,” he sneered. “Why are you learning this?” 

 

“While you have the book,” Laurent mumbled as he highlighted a passage in his notes. “Tell me what it says on page eighty-nine.” 

 

“It says that you need to talk to your crush about your feelings instead of pining.”

 

“I don’t pine and I don’t have a crush. What is Freud saying on that page?”

 

“I think Freud wants you to stop being a nerd and go out on a date.”

 

“Very cute. Freud isn’t a dating expert.” Laurent took his book back and read through one of the paragraphs. He pressed his lips together and threw his book down. “And how would I even talk to Damen? How do I know for sure that he has a crush on me? He’s a friendly guy. Maybe he just thinks of me as a friend.” Nicaise shrugged and jumped off of the couch.

 

“Okay, but if he drunk texts you about your hair, don’t come to me.” 

 

“Damen doesn’t drunk text and even if he did, it’s not my problem what he says while intoxicated.”

***

8:56 PM From Damen: LAURENT!!!!!!

 

8:57 PM From Damen: Jord said that u werent gonna come but I still miss u 

 

8:58 PM From Damen: have i ever told you that your hair is really nice

 

8:59 PM From Damen: I also really like your laugh 

 

8:59 PM From Damen: I’m not drunk btw

 

9:00 PM From Damen: just really tipsy 

 

9:01 PM From Damen: you're probably studying so I won’t bother you

 

9:02 PM From Damen: I just think you're really cute 

 

9:03 PM From Damen: I don’t know if I’ve made that obvious or not 

 

9:04 PM From Damen: but you’re really cute 

 

9:27 PM From Damen: so I totally just kicked Jord’s ass in beer pong 

 

9:34 PM From Damen: I’m going to have the worst hangover tomorrow 

 

Laurent stared at his phone with his hand over his mouth, trying to process what Damen had just written to him. People didn’t filter themselves when they were drunk and they didn’t hide things. Damen was being completely honest. Laurent was calling him before he could regret it.

 

“Laurent!” Damen said, happily. 

 

“Hi, Damen. How are you?” He curled up on the couch, biting his nails nervously.

 

“I miss you. I’m glad you called.”

 

“I got your texts. Were you being honest?”

 

“Completely. I really really like you, Laurent.”

 

“I…” Laurent stopped. Before, he had been trying to avoid friends at all costs. Now he had more friends than he could ever imagine. He didn’t believe that anyone could ever like him enough to be in a relationship with him and yet, here was Damen. Perfect, kind, handsome, wonderful Damen. “I like you too, Damen.”

 

“Wait, really?” Laurent smiled.

 

“Yes, really.”

 

“Holy shit. Holy shit. This is the best news I’ve ever heard. I should come over there and kiss you. I’ve wanted to do that for a while. You look like you have really soft lips.” Laurent’s smile grew and he let out a small laugh.

 

“As much as I would enjoy that, I would prefer that you don’t drive while intoxicated. I do want to see you soon, though.” 

 

“I want to see you, too. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I’m going to take you out for the best breakfast you’ve ever had.” 

 

“I can’t wait. Enjoy the rest of your night, Damen. And be careful.”

 

“Bye, Laurent.” Laurent hung up the phone, still smiling. He put a hand over his mouth and started laughing happily. He felt so...free.

 

9:45 PM To Damen: Come by at eight. I should be awake by then.

 

9:46 PM To Damen: <3 

 

9:47 PM To Damen: please ignore that I’m going to bed 

 

Laurent laid in his bed reading and rereading the messages from Damen. The smile never left his lips. There was a feeling in his chest that was unfamiliar, but not unwanted. He felt warm. He could feel the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He never realized a crush could actually make him feel this way and he liked it. It made him feel safe.

 

11:34 PM To Damen: kissing you does sound really nice 

 

11:35 PM To Damen: someone needs to take my phone away from me 

 

11:36 PM To Damen: I’ll talk to you tomorrow Damen. Good night 

***

Laurent put a cup of coffee in front of Damen and sat down next to him. He took a sip of his own drink while Damen tried to get rid of his headache.

 

“This isn’t how I imagined this would go,” Damen groaned. Laurent gave him a small smile.

 

“I’m glad you’re here.”

 

“So am I.” Damen downed his entire cup of coffee and turned to face Laurent who curled up on the couch. He held his cup with one hand and rested his head on the other, giving Damen all of his focus. “Okay. I read my texts and I read yours and I vaguely remember the phone call. We both share the same feelings. What do we do about it?” 

 

“I thought you might know. I’ve never done anything like before. I’m trusting your judgement.” Damen ran his fingers through his hair. It was messy and unbrushed. Laurent wanted to run his fingers through it.

 

“I’ve never felt like this before. With you, everything feels real and true. I feel like I can be honest with you.” Laurent sat in cup on the table and moved closer to Damen.

 

“I feel the same way.” Laurent rested his head on Damen’s shoulder and let out a laugh. “This all feels so new. What you do to me, I just don’t understand it.”

 

“Neither do I.” Laurent lifted up his head an inch and ran his fingers over his cross. 

 

“I think this is what Auguste wanted for me. He always told me that I would find someone that would make my heart burst out of my chest. I never thought I would and I never believed that it would be you.”

 

“Honestly, neither did I. So what do we do now?” 

 

“I think you mentioned something about wanting to kiss me,” Laurent teased. Damen let out a groan and leaned against the back of the couch.

 

“Please just ignore everything drunk Damen said.” Laurent smiled at him then bit his lip.

 

“If this is going to happen, I’m going to need things to be slow. Extremely slow, so if that’s not something you want…” Damen sat back up and looked at the blonde.

 

“I want you, Laurent. I like you for your brain and your personality, not for your body. I’ll go as slow as you need me to.”

 

“Thank you, Damen.” Laurent grabbed Damen’s hand and ran his fingers along Damen’s palm. “If you don’t mind, I’d actually like to stay inside. I can cook for us and we can watch a movie.”

 

“Thank you. My head is pounding.” Laurent brushed his lips along Damen’s head and started to walk to the kitchen.

 

“Go ahead and find something to watch. There’s some more coffee if you want some too.” 

 

“God, I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” Laurent put his hand over his mouth, trying to hide the ridiculous smile on his lips.

 

“Brute,” he whispered to himself. He looked over at Damen who had stretched out on the couch. He carefully ran his thumb over his cross before moving over to the fridge to make breakfast.

***

Laurent’s fingers brushed against Damen’s as they walked along the pier. The carnival nearby had closed for the night, leaving the two in silence as they walked down to the water. Laurent had never been on a date before and upon hearing that, Damen made a vow to give Laurent the best first date he would ever be on. He had originally suggested the carnival but changed his mind after hearing a story from Laurent about the first and last time he had gone to a fair with Auguste and got sick from the ‘ridiculous amount of fatty foods’. Damen probably shouldn’t have laughed as hard as he did. He decided on the waterfront instead. It was much quieter and isolated, allowing the pair a moment of peace.

 

Damen slowly reached over and intertwined his fingers with Laurent’s. The blonde quickly looked away, a gentle blush dusting his cheeks.

 

“Is this okay?” Damen whispered as they stepped out onto the docks. Laurent squeezed his hand reassuringly.  

 

“Yes,” Laurent whispered back. “I- I’m enjoying myself.”

 

“I’m glad. You deserve this.”

 

“Damen.”

 

“You deserve to have happiness like this. You shouldn’t have to be afraid of what could come next. Your heart is pure and good and-”

 

“Damen-”

 

“I really enjoy every moment that I spend with you. You mean so much more to me than you could ever know-”

 

“Damen, as wonderful as it is to hear that, there is something that I want to try.” Damen looked down at Laurent who had his eyes closed and was taking deep breaths. “I’m going to need you to lean down. Your height is one of the most inconvenient parts of our relationship.” Damen instead brought them over to a bench where they sat down and looked at each other. Laurent was nervously chewing his bottom lip.

 

“Is something wrong?” Laurent grabbed one of Damen’s hands and brought it up to his cheek.

 

“No. Everything is...perfect. You’ve been so patient this whole time and I want to repay you for it.” Before Damen could question it, Laurent leaned up and pressed their lips together. There weren’t butterflies or fireworks or any of the stereotypical feelings, but that didn’t stop Damen from kissing back. Laurent backed away after a few seconds and put his hand over his mouth. “Was that okay?”

 

“It was more than okay. It was wonderful.” Laurent shook his head and let out a small laugh.

 

“You’re utterly ridiculous.”

 

“Can I kiss you again?” The blonde hesitated for a moment before smiling and nodding. Damen cupped his cheek and carefully brushed their lips together. Laurent leaned into it, gently gripping onto Damen’s shirt. Damen wrapped his other arm around Laurent’s waist and pulled him close. Laurent pulled away, resting his head on Damen’s shoulder and sighing. He closed his eyes and let Damen hold him, feeling, for once, that everything was going to be okay. Damen gently kissed the top of his head and pulled them both to their feet. “Let’s go get something warm and I’ll drive you back to your apartment. Sound good?” Laurent nodded and threaded his fingers through Damen’s. 

 

“I’d like that.”

***

Damen carefully pressed his lips to Laurent’s neck, waiting for the blonde to nod before he continued. Laurent didn’t mind it, surprisingly. Damen’s lips were warm against his skin. He gently bit Laurent’s neck and his tongue slipped out between his lips to trace the mark. Laurent let out a small hum and mindlessly ran his fingers though Damen’s hair to remind himself of who he was with. But even if Damen’s hands weren’t even touching him and his lips were warm and his hair was curly, Laurent still felt another person’s hands and lips and he panicked.   
  
“Stop,” he said. “Stop. Stop. Stop.” Damen had backed away after the first ‘stop’. Laurent backed against the headboard and clung to himself.    
  
“Laurent,” Damen whispered. “Laurent, I’m here. It’s okay.” Laurent took a deep breath and lowered his hands, revealing the imprints his nails had made on his arms. “Do you need me to go?”   
  
“Yes. No. I don’t know. Just...” Laurent wiped his eyes. “Just stay there, please. Don’t go.”   
  
“I won’t. I’ll stay. I’m sorry.”   
  
“You don’t need to apologize. You- It’s not- You’re- You’re safe. You wouldn’t....” Laurent had started hyperventilating.    
  
“Laurent, you need to breath. Look at me. Laurent, please look at me.” Laurent looked up and let Damen grab his hands. “Breathe with me. Close your eyes. Don’t think. Just breath. Slowly and carefully. Are you with me?” Laurent inhaled a shaky breath and nodded. “You’re going to be okay. It’s me.”   
  
“It’s you.” Laurent took a deep breath and brushed the hair out of his face. “It’s just you. You’re safe.” Damen grabbed one of his hands and kissed the inside of his wrist. “Thank you.”   
  
“Do you need me to stay?”   
  
“Would you?”   
  
“Let me grab my phone and text Nik.”   
  
“I’m going to go shower.” He walked out of the room before Damen could respond. Damen sat on the bed, frowning. There was so much that he still didn’t know about Laurent and he could only assume that this was one of the things that Laurent had been hiding.    
  
Laurent walked back into the room a half hour later with a frown on his face. He sat down on the bed and Damen joined him.    
  
“This isn’t going to be easy for me to say,” Laurent said. “So can you...” Damen reached over and intertwined his fingers with Laurent’s. Laurent swallowed and rubbed his temples. “There’s a reason that I despise my uncle so much. He has a certain preference. It was this preference that made Auguste want to get me out of his house and what made me get Niciase out as soon as I could. He never did anything to Nicaise and I made sure that he never would.” Damen looked at Laurent and he got angry as he realized what Laurent was saying to him.   
  
“That son of a bitch. That sick son of a bitch. I’m going to kill him.”    
  
“It’s why I’ve tried so hard to keep Nicaise safe.”   
  
“I’m going to find that son of a bitch. I’m going to kill him. I am actually going to kill him.”   
  
“I appreciate that, but I need you to make a promise to me. Do not hunt my uncle down. Please, Damen. I’ve tried so hard to keep him away from Nicaise. I know that you’re angry, but please don’t find him. You can be as angry as you want with me, but I want nothing to do with him anymore and I can’t have him knowing that you’re important to me because he will take you away from me and I can’t lose you.” Damen felt his jaw tighten, but he nodded.    
  
“Okay. I won’t approach him. I’m sorry, Laurent. I’m so sorry. What can I do to help you? I’ll do anything.”   
  
“Just stay with me.” Laurent pulled Damen next to him. He rested his hand on Damen’s neck and pressed their faces together.    
  
“You’re beautiful,” Damen whispered. “You’re absolutely stunning.”   
  
“You’ve mentioned.” Damen brushed away the hair on Laurent’s forehead and kissed it.    
  
“Tell me what I can do.”   
  
“Kiss me. I feel safe around you. I don’t want to think about anything other than you and how safe you make me feel.” Laurent leaned up and gently pressed their lips together. Damen put a gentle hand onto Laurent’s waist and pulled him closer. They embraced and got lost in each other for a few moments before Laurent pulled away and buried his face into Damen’s neck. “You’re staying?”   
  
“Of course I am. I’m not leaving anytime soon.”   
  
“Thank you.” Damen kissed the top of his head.    
  
“Get some sleep, love.”   
  
“Good night, Damen.”   
***

“Your boyfriend not answering his phone?” Damen looked up from his phone and saw all of his friends giving him the same judging look. He slid the device back into his pocket and flushed under the attention. 

 

“Sorry,” Damen said. “I haven’t spoken to Laurent all day and I’m just a little worried about him.” Nik rolled his eyes with a light smile on his face.

 

“Anyone would be lucky to have you, Damen,” he snorted, finishing off his beer. “How’s that going anyway?”

 

“I like Laurent a lot and I think he’s getting a lot more comfortable around people. I might invite him over the next time he has a day off.” A sudden knock on the door interrupted Damen’s next thought. 

 

“Looks like your boyfriend is coming to surprise you.” Damen snorted and got up to open the door. Instead of seeing the blonde hair he had come to know and love, Damen saw light brown curls. Nicaise was standing at his door crying.

 

“Nicaise, what are you doing here? Where’s Laurent?”

 

“I don’t know,” Nicaise sniffled. “He hasn’t come home and he won’t answer his phone. You’ve heard from him, right? Please tell me he called you.”

 

“No,” Damen said, worried. “He hasn’t texted me back all day. Did he tell you if he was going anywhere today?” The teen vigorously shook his head.

 

“Even if he did, he would have texted me to remind me. I haven't heard anything from him since he dropped me off at school.” Damen knelt down in front of Nicaise and put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Do you know where he might have gone? Somewhere that he goes for comfort or silence or something?” Nicaise sniffled again and wiped his eyes.

 

“The cemetery maybe. He goes to Auguste’s grave and talks to him whenever he needs comfort. That’s the only place I can think of.” Damen nodded and pulled Nicaise into the apartment.

 

“I’ll go look for him. Stay here. Laurent will be okay, I promise.” Nicaise nodded and sat down on the couch next to Nikandros. Damen quickly pulled on his shoes and jacket and ran out the door. The drive to the cemetery didn’t take long and neither did finding Laurent. The blonde sat in front of one of the graves, gripping on to something Damen couldn’t see. His hair covered his face, but Damen could still tell that he was crying. He was shaking violently. Damen rushed over to him, stepping on a stick as he ran, attracting Laurent’s attention.

 

“Why are you here?” Laurent snapped out, surprising Damen. He froze for a moment and tried to process the sudden anger.

 

“Nicaise came to my apartment in tears,” Damen carefully explained. He knelt down next to his boyfriend and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s worried about you because you haven’t been answering your phone all day.” Damen’s fingers only grazed Laurent’s shirt, but the blonde still flinched away as if he had been burned. “You haven’t been answering my calls either.”

 

“Because I’m breaking up with you.” Damen’s whole world stopped. Laurent wouldn’t even look at him. “My trial against my uncle is tomorrow and I don’t need any distractions.” The ice prince was back. 

 

_ Or _ , Damen thought.  _ Maybe he never left. _

 

“Laurent-”

 

“Go.”

 

“If you would just-”

 

“Go!” Laurent turned to face him, anger in his eyes. Tears still spilled down his cheeks. In his hands, he held a letter. 

 

“I’m not going to just leave you, Laurent. I’m not leaving you alone in a cemetery in tears.”

 

“Damianos, go home.” Laurent was shaking and Damen wanted nothing more than to hold him. “Just leave me alone.”

 

“No. Not after everything we’ve been through. We been through too much together for you to lock me out again. I’m not here to hurt you, Laurent. I want to help you.”

 

“For once, just listen to me and go away. I want to be alone. Why can’t you make this easy?”

 

“Because I think I lo-” 

 

“No,” Laurent hissed out. “No, you are not going to do this to me. Not you, not now.” Damen stopped and just looked at Laurent.

 

“So the past five months haven’t meant a thing to you? You really work hard to keep up the frigid bitch appearance, don’t you?” Laurent just held himself. He didn’t say anything. “Laurent, stop pushing me away. We can fight this together.”

 

“This fight isn’t yours. I shouldn’t have let myself get this weak.”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

 

“This relationship was a mistake.” Damen felt his chest tighten.

 

“You don’t mean that.” Laurent stayed silent. “Tell me you don’t mean that.” Nothing. “Fine. I’ll leave you alone. Goodbye, Laurent.” As Damen walked away, he silently hoped that Laurent would run to him or call out his name. Neither happened. Damen drove back to his apartment feeling empty.

***

Breaking up sucked. Being dumped sucked even more. Damen had never been dumped before. The breakup with Jokaste had been mutual. So had any of the small hookups Damen participated in. No one had even broken up with Damen. And it fucking sucked.

 

Laurent blocked his number. Nicaise hadn’t, but he also didn’t answer his phone which worried Damen. His only guess was that Laurent had lost his case and custody of Nicaise and that scared Damen even more. Nicaise was a strong kid, but he had to listen to his great uncle; he didn’t have a choice. Damen was almost inclined to find where Laurent’s uncle lived and take Nicaise away. The risk of being arrested was worth keeping Nicaise safe.

 

Damen had hardly left his bed since the breakup. Nikandros hadn’t tried to drag him out of the room which he was silently thankful for. He really didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Moping was just making him feel worse and the Cosmopolitan article about getting over breakups that he read didn’t give him any good advice. He just wanted Laurent back.

 

It was a good three weeks after the breakup that Damen saw either of the Devere’s again. He had just started getting over the breakup. He still didn’t understand Laurent’s reason for dumping him, but he understood that Laurent needed his space and he respected that. He still hadn’t heard anything from Nicaise and that still worried him. He could only hope that Nicaise was okay.

 

Nikandros was out with Jord, leaving Damen alone in the apartment. Damen was in the middle of some cheesy romcom when he heard a knock on the door. He raised an eyebrow before pulling himself up and opening the door. Two police officers stood outside.

 

“Are you Damen?” one of the officers asked.

 

“Yes?” Damen replied, leaning against the doorway. “Is there a problem?”

 

“We’re going to need you to come down to the station with us,” the other officer said. “A young boy by the name of Nicaise came by with some very serious allegations towards his guardian. He told us he wouldn’t say more until you were in the room with him. You’re not under arrest. We just need you to be there as a sort of moral support for Niciase.”

 

“Is he alright?”

 

“He’s fine. Are you able to come down with us?”

 

“Yeah. Just let me get dressed and leave a note for my roommate. I’ll be right back.”

***

Damen didn’t like police stations. There was always something about them that never felt right. Maybe it was the idea that so many suspected criminals were together in one place. Or it was the thought of everything that had lead people there. Either way, police stations always rubbed Damen the wrong way. Seeing Nicaise safe and alive helped, though.

 

The teen sat in one of the interrogation rooms, clinging onto a laptop. His hair had been cut so it was just above his ears instead of down to his neck like he always had it. The curls were practically nonexistent. Nicaise looked up at Damen and immediately dropped the laptop onto the table, running over and hugging Damen as tightly as he could. Damen put a hand on his head and held him close. Nicaise clung onto Damen for a few minutes before backing away and looking around.

 

“Where’s Laurent?”

 

“I haven’t talked to him in weeks.” Nicaise turned to the officers that had walked in with Damen.

 

“I told you to bring Laurent too.” 

 

“He is still under a restraining order,” one of the officers said. “We brought in Mr. Akielon and that’s the best we can do until you tell us about your guardian.” Nicaise frowned but walked back over to the laptop and turned it on.

 

“I found this on accident,” Nicaise explained. “Richard left me home alone like he always does so I trashed his office. He took my uncle away from me and tried to turn me into his fucking puppet. I was about to delete all of the files on his computer when I found this.” He turned the laptop so that it faced the officers. Damen knelt down next to Nicaise as the officers looked at the screen.

 

“Is there more of this?” Nicaise nodded and turned the laptop back, showing the officers what was in every file. Damen didn’t look at the laptop; he had an idea of what was on it and it made him sick to his stomach. “Nicaise, were going to need to take a full statement from you.”

 

“Laurent needs to be here too. He’s the one who tried to protect me from Richard because he knew what he would do.” One of the officers grabbed her radio as she walked out of the room.

 

“I need an APB on Richard DeVere. Caucasian male, mid-fifties, about five foot nine. Bring him in immediately.” The door closed before Damen could hear the rest of her message. Nicaise looked down at the table and squeezed his hands into fists.

 

“I did the right thing, right?” Damen nodded.

 

“You absolutely did the right thing, Nicaise. Laurent is going to be so proud of you.” Nicaise nodded and hugged Damen again. Damen wrapped a tight arm around him and hugged him back.

 

“I want to see Laurent again.”

 

“I know. I do too.”

***

Nicaise stayed in the interrogation room to give his statement. Damen was told to wait for him by the entrance of the station. Just as he was about to update Nik on the situation, the doors slammed open and a familiar face ran through the doors. 

 

“My name is Laurent DeVere,” Laurent yelled. “Where is my nephew? I was told he was here!” Laurent looked...different. During the time that they had been dating, Laurent always kept himself looking sharp. His appearance at that moment was nothing compared to that. His hair was in knots and he was wearing one of Damen’s sweaters and a pair of sweats. The ice prince hadn’t returned. Laurent didn’t want to break up with Damen. Someone just forced him too.

 

“Laurent,” Damen said, trying his best to stay calm. Laurent turned to Damen and gasped. “Nicaise is safe. He’s talking to a few of the officers right now. They may want to speak with you too.” He looked closely at Damen.

 

“You came here to check on Nicaise?”

 

“They couldn’t bring you here so he asked for me. I’ve been worried about him and I needed to know that he was okay.” Laurent’s mouth fell open as he tried to come up with a proper response. Damen could see that he was fighting with himself. He put a hand over his mouth and let out a broken sob. Damen could see tears forming in his eyes. “Laurent?” 

 

“I'm so sorry,” he sobbed out. “I said things that I didn’t mean and…” Damen wrapped his arms around Laurent tightly, holding him close. Laurent buried his head in Damen’s shoulder and gripped onto his shirt. “I’m sorry. Everything that I said, I didn’t mean it. I-” He sniffled. “He threatened you. He found out about you and he was going to hurt you and I couldn’t- I didn’t want to lose you, but I had to.” Damen kissed the top of his head and carefully ran his fingers through Laurent’s hair, being careful to avoid the worst of the knots.

 

“Come on. Let’s sit down.” Damen lead them to a bench next to the entrance and sat them down. Laurent pressed his face into Damen’s neck, still clinging onto his shirt. “When was the last time you slept? You look exhausted.”

 

“I haven’t slept. I...I was too worried about Nicaise and I missed you so much. I-”

 

“Shhh. It’s okay, Laurent. It’s okay. Just relax. Take a deep breath.”

 

“What happened to Nicaise?”

 

“He brought your uncle’s laptop in. I don’t know what was on it, but the police are searching for him now.”

 

“He didn’t hurt Nicaise, did he?” Damen shook his head.

 

“No. Nicaise is okay. You’re going to be reunited with him soon. He’s excited to see you.” Laurent didn’t reply. Damen looked down and saw him playing with a loose thread on his shirt. Damen ran his thumb along Laurent’s knuckles and kiss the top of his head again.

 

“Would you take me back?” he whispered. “I haven’t felt this alone in so long and it hurts. It hurts so much and I hate it and I hate myself. I just want you back.”

 

“Laurent,” Damen whispered back. “Laurent, I would take you back in a second. I just thought you hated me.”

 

“I could never hate you. You make it too difficult. I don’t deserve you.”

 

“Laurent, look at me.” Laurent lifted his head, allowing Damen to cup his cheek. “You don’t understand how much I care about you. You are so important to me.” Damen carefully brushed his thumb along the bags under Laurent’s eyes. “You’re so beautiful.” Laurent kissed the inside of Damen’s wrist and leaned into his touch.

 

“I-”

 

“Laurent!” A sudden yell cut Laurent off before he could finish talking. Nicaise launched himself into his uncle’s arms and started speaking loudly and quickly. Laurent just nodded and held him and comforted him. An officer that Damen didn’t recognize walked over to the trio.

 

“Mr. DeVere,” he said. “If you would give us a moment, we’d like to take a statement from you about your uncle.” Laurent looked over at Damen who nodded his head and mouthed, ‘You’ll be okay.’ He nodded back and stood up, keeping a protective hand on Nicaise’s shoulder. 

 

“Of course,” he replied. Damen reached over and squeezed his hand before sitting back and watching Laurent walk away with the officer.

 

“He’s going to be okay, right?” Nicaise asked. 

 

“Your uncle is a very smart man,” Damen smiled. “He’ll be just fine.”

***

Laurent rested his head on Damen’s chest while the taller of the two played with his hair. They were back at Laurent’s apartment, somewhere Damen hadn’t been in a long time.

 

“His trial is in two weeks,” the blonde mumbled, tracing the lines of Damen’s abs.

 

“You’ll do fine,” Damen whispered back. “I know you and your brain. He won’t be able to lay a hand on you again.”

 

“Thank you, Damen. For everything you’ve done.”

 

“I wasn’t going to leave you alone, Laurent. You’ve been alone for too long and I want to make sure that you’re never alone again.” Laurent bit his lip nervously.

 

“You’ve been so patient and understanding. Why are you forgiving me so easily?” Damen stopped and pondered the question for a moment.

 

“Because I knew you were lying. I knew you put your barriers back up because you were afraid. You care about people more than you would like to admit. You’re a good person, Laurent, even if you don’t believe it yourself.” Laurent pressed his face into Damen’s neck and sighed, tickling the skin there.

 

“I don’t understand you. Maybe I never will.”

 

“If you’re willing to put up with me, we have a long time to figure things out.” Laurent smiled and leaned up to kiss Damen. He carefully brushed the hair out of Damen’s face and kissed him again, the smile never leaving his lips. Damen ran his fingers through Laurent’s hair and started kissing his neck. Laurent laughed that time, and it was the most beautiful sound Damen ever heard. He lifted his head and pressed a small kiss to Laurent’s cheek. “You’re smiling.”

 

“Yeah,” Laurent whispered. “I guess I am.”


End file.
